Industry News

6/13/2013

The Kansas state school board Tuesday approved new, multistate science standards for public schools that treat both evolution and climate change as key concepts to be taught from kindergarten through the 12th grade.

The President’s proposal builds on the very successful E-Rate program and is one of the boldest efforts in recent memory so clearly focused on ensuring that online and digital learning resources and tools are accessible and affordable to all students and communities.

VideoANT is a free tool for collaboratively annotating videos. I first wrote about VideoANT back in 2010. Recently, as I learned from Nathan Hall, VideoANT received a major facelift that makes it easier to use than it was before. The first improvement to note is that the service is now built on HTML5, which means that Flash is no longer needed.

Google SMS provided a great way for students to learn right from their phones. Sadly, now Google's SMS solutions are gone. Google's decision to streamline their services leaves behind many of our students who no longer have access to the internet. Fortunately, there are other options.

NSBA is concerned that some provisions in the bill would create a much larger federal role that would hamper school districts’ innovation and flexibility, and other provisions that would create additional bureaucracies at the expense of student achievement.

In September, Glacier Hills Elementary School (Eagan, Minn.), a science magnet school, will open a new laboratory that combines science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. The "STEAM room" will allow students to create objects using new tools, such as a 3D printer and laser etcher, when exploring scientific concepts.

In today’s blended learning environment, an increasing number of students and teachers have access to technology that extends the educational process well beyond the classroom walls. As part of this trend, school districts across the U.S. are implementing practices and policies that transform learning environments into one of participatory learning for the purpose of improving student outcomes.

Last week, President Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan launched the ConnectED initiative—a call to connect 99 percent of schools across the country to broadband internet within five years. President Obama described fixing that problem as an essential step in the high-quality education that will keep America a leader in an increasingly competitive global economy.

With a commitment to developing programs and partnerships that benefit children and bring valuable resources to parents and members, Focus Education makers of ifocus, announced today that the company is now an official National PTA Member Benefits Provider (MBP). ifocus is a unique attention-training system for children ages 6 to 12 that significantly improves attention, focus, and memory through a fun computer game called “Jungle Rangers.”

The innovative upgrade kit is designed to fit into existing T8/T12 linear fluorescent fixtures – allowing end users to easily upgrade to LED. The new UR Series LED upgrade kit covers both two-feet and four-feet lengths in various lamp configurations.